Saturday, October 22, 2016

A Line in the Sand

I usually don't comment or blog about any "hot topic" items. I feel that there's not a lot of point in it. Anytime you "argue" on social media you're missing a huge part of communication- the nonverbal side. Things get misinterpreted, people get heated, and things are said that normally wouldn't be said in a face-to-face conversation. Also, when anyone posts an opinion, someone is always offended and then the aforementioned argument ensues. There is no tolerance for opinions anymore. If you don't agree with someone, people can't "agree to disagree" very well at all. It's sad really. Because you know what??

We are never all going to agree on every single thing. Period.

Shocking, I know. But it's the truth. We were all created differently and we all perceive things differently. It's a hard concept for some to wrap their minds around, which is why I think these conversations are usually best left for a physical meeting....but I digress.

After wrestling with whether or not to speak up, I decided to weigh in on one particular subject though, because I feel like, out of all the "issues" out there, it may be the most important one.

No matter what side of the coin you are on here, I beg of you to please hear me out. And let me preface this by saying, these "opinions" come from the bottom of my heart, unprejudiced, and with as much love as I can muster. I realize that not all of you will agree with my line of thinking. And that's ok. I just hope that you can put all presuppositions aside for a moment and truly consider these words.

I've seen quite a bit of arguments and conversations revolving around the issue of abortion. (Please don't discount me now. Keep going b/c this isn't just about this procedure.) But you know what? I think the real issue goes way deeper than just a procedure. I mean, we are ultimately talking about the value of life. Allow me to explain.

I know some of you are already digging into your bag of arguments to refute whatever it is I have to say from this point on. Please...I beg of you to wait. Really listen and consider. Then, if you still draw the same conclusion, by all means reach away.

At the core, we really are addressing the question "What value do we place on human life?". I realize some of you may not see it that way, but allow me to explain. You see, when we say yes to abortion or any procedure that will end a life (especially a life where they cannot speak up for themselves), we are essentially saying that that particular life didn't have as much value as another. If you truly think about that, you would have to agree. When we make a choice to end a life because it was not wanted, it was the result of a tragic crime, or because there are imperfections we are saying "I determine what is 'worthy' of living or dying. And the other life in this scenario is of more value." Friends...that is a dangerously slippery slope that cannot be reversed once ridden and will undoubtedly end in disasters of epic proportions. I mean, who are any of us to determine who is worthy of life or not??? Last I checked, none of us is God...so....yeah...

Think of it this way. If you couldn't speak for yourself, would you want the value of your life determined by someone else who can't see the future, who is just as broken as you are, and who doesn't love you unconditionally and WAY more than you deserve? I think not. I know I wouldn't.

But that's exactly what we're doing when we condone any practice that takes the innocent life of a child. And when we say yes to that....where does it stop? Where do you draw the line?

It starts small. But before you know it, the snowball effect has happened and there is absolutely no standard anymore. And we will have mass chaos and disorder. Nothing will be morally wrong anymore.

You may think this to be an overreaction of sorts. But allow me to refresh your memory. This has happened before. You may remember a man named Adolf Hitler and a time in history referred to as The Holocaust?? Let me clarify. I am NOT in any way, shape, or form labeling ANYONE as Hitler. Not. At. All. I only refer to this because at the core- the issue is the same one: the value of life. He took it upon himself to determine what lives were worthy to remain and what ones were not. And it started with little things. I mean no one follows a mass genocidal leader right off the bat. That's just crazy talk. It starts with little things- things that sound "right" initially. Things that can be justified and made sense of. But then it grows and before you know it thousands of lives are being ended because they don't "measure up". (Fun fact: The Holocaust claimed 6,000,000 lives. We've had over 45,000,000 abortions in our country alone since Roe v. Wade. Let that one soak in for a second. Sobering, isn't it?)

Guys, when we start giving wiggle room on the value of life, we've opened up the gates to this and it's really hard to close them.

ALL life is valuable and there is no one here on this beloved planet that is worthy of saying otherwise. No one. You didn't create life. I didn't create life. So it's not our responsibility to determine the standard of value for life.

Those of you that are pro-choice may not see it that way, because more often than not you are looking at the whole issue through the individual lens of a case by case scenario. There's always going to be a scenario that is difficult- no matter what issue we are talking about. Rape, for example, is atrocious. I can't even imagine the horror that the victims experience there. But the life that comes out of that is not guilty of the crime. They didn't choose to be the result of that. And who says that their life is of less value than the mother's? That is NOT ours to determine. Period.

You may think that I don't care about those that carry unwanted pregnancies or that have been through trauma. But actually, I care more deeply than you realize. In fact, I would argue that those that are pro-life care even more. You see, I have yet to meet or hear of someone, who after having an abortion, has not regretted it even a little. Often times, the trauma of the abortion is just as bad, if not worse, than the rape or trauma itself. You can not have an abortion without any repercussions or consequences from that too. Just ask anyone who's had it done. So when you say that you support the woman's right to choose...have you thought of what will happen to her after the procedure- especially if she isn't warned about it? And I guarantee you even if she is, no one can fully prepare you for that kind of grief- especially someone who has never experienced it themselves. So you say that you are thinking of the mother when you argue for the right to choose. But are you? Is that really what is best for her? I don't think it is. Statistics even prove that it is not.

I'm sorry this is longer than normal, but it literally breaks my heart to see what is happening here. Life is valuable. Period. There's no other standard than that. Yes, our world is broken. No, it is not free of hardship. Yes, horrific things happen. But we have to draw a line in the stand or we will hit the point of no return. I'm afraid we may have already passed it. (Especially since we seem to value wildlife more than human life. We have no problem protecting the eggs-still 'unborn' young BTW- of an endangered species but we don't bat an eye at killing off the unborn of our own species. Am I the only one seeing the irony and horror in that???) But that is why we need to dialogue about this. We need to know and think about all of it. And we need to encourage one another to value life....all life. And then we need to help those that walk through the difficult circumstances. I think we could all agree that things would be better if we put our energy and focus on that instead.

So you have a choice. You can go ahead and place your head back in the sand and your fingers in your ears and hum to drown out the 'noise'. Or we can join forces, help those in need, and fight for the value of life. If we don't....well...I don't even want to imagine it.

"If you truly believe in the value of life, you care about all of the weakest and most vulnerable members of society." 
Joni Eareckson Tada

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